CPM shortens Bengal plenum to 2 days

KOLKATA: The Bengal CPM has cut short the state plenum by a day as two days seemed “enough“ to discuss the formula to strengthen the party.

The plenum was earlier planned for three days, starting September 30. The CPM politburo, which met in Delhi on Tuesday, took up the issue of the party's Bengal plenum and urged the state leadership to make the session lively and go for useful discussion to strengthen the organisation in the state. It is learnt that the politburo wanted all the states to organise plenum before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take stock of the party's organisational network. Sources in the party hinted that the politburo appreciated the Bengal unit's fight against Mamata Banerjee's government.

Party insiders in Bengal CPM, however, hinted that Supreme Court's Singur verdict has gone against the erstwhile CPM-led government and the party is bound to suffer abject criticisms from the opposition in the 2018 panchayat elections. There were many in Bengal CPM like former land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah, who did not support the then government's way to acquire land at Singur. Mollah was expelled later and he is now a minister in the Trinamool Congress government.

But there are many in Bengal CPM who, like Mollah, had raised their voices within the party forum against Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-Nirupam Sen-Surjya Mishra trio which had played the key role in acquiring land at Singur for the Tata Motors small car project. After the Singur verdict, it has been proved that land acquisition at Singur was illegal and CPM leaders who were against it in 2005, might raise their voices again during the state party plenum.

Mishra is still advocating for Singur land acquisition for Bengal's rapid industrialisation even though he had made it clear that the CPM did not object to Mamata's effort to return land to Singur farmers immediately after she came to power in 2011.

Anticipating voices of dissent at the plenum, the Bengal leadership has reduced the session to two days to October 1.Party insiders also hinted that they will observe Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on October 2 in a grand manner this time and the plenum will be over on October 1 to enable the leadership to observe Gandhi birthday .